INVESTIGATORS AROUND 11:20. OF COURSE WE WILL KEEP YOU POSTED. STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE GOES ON TRIAL AND LOSES IN COURT. THE OFFICE HAS VIOLATED OPEN RECORDS LAWS. CHANNEL 4 SCOTT JOHNSON HAS BEEN INVESTIGATING THIS. HE IS JOINING US LIVE FROM DOWNTOWN WITH WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU. WELL, THE STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE NOW HAS TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO GET ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS AFTER WHAT A JUDGE SAID THEY DID WRONG THAT VIOLATED THE LAW, EVEN TO THE POINT OF INTIMIDATION OF A LOCAL CITIZEN. JUDGE HAS FOUND THAT STATE'S ATTORNEY'S ANGELA COREY'S OFFICE WHOSE JOB IS TO PROSECUTE LAWMAKERS DID, IN FACT, VIOLATE FLORIDA STATE LAW ITSELF SPECIFICALLY IN THIS COURT RULING IT SHOWS THE STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE VIOLATED FLORIDA OPEN RECORDS LAWS AFTER A LOCAL MAN NAMED CURTIS LEE STARTED REQUESTING DOCUMENTS RELATED TO THE POLICE AND FIRE PENSION FUND. HIS ATTORNEY BROOKS RAPID TELLS MEES HIS CLIENT RAN INTO A LOT OF ROAD BLOCKS. WE ASKED FOR PUBLIC RECORDS THAT HE WANTED DEALING WITH THE POLICE AND FIRE PENSION FUND. THAT'S AN ISSUE THAT IS OF INTEREST TO MR. LEE. I WASN'T INVOLVED IN IT, HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT. HE HAD NO ATTORNEYS INVOLVED. HE WASN'T GETTING THE RECORDS. IN FACT, HE HAD A COUPLE INVESTIGATORS FROM THE STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE COME VISIT HIM IN HIS HOME WHICH WAS DISCONCERTING TO HIM. HE FELT UNEASY ABOUT THAT. HE STILL WASN'T GETTING THE RECORDS. RULING SAYS THE STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE SENT TWO INVESTIGATORS TO LEE'S HOME AND TOLD HIM TO STOP CONTACTING THEIR OFFICE AND RAPID SAYS THAT WAS WAY OVER THE LINE. THE STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IS LEGALLY OBLIGATED TO PROVIDE PUBLIC DOCUMENTS TO ANYONE WHO REQUESTS THEM. IF THESE ARE RECORDS THAT BELONG TO THE PUBLIC, THE PUBLIC HAS A RIGHT TO THEM, THEY SHOULD GET ACCESS TO THEM. SOMETIMES PEOPLE ARE MOTIVATED FOR ALL DIFFERENT REASONS. SOMETIMES THEY ARE WHISTLE BLOWERS OR CITIZEN WATCHDOGS OR WANT TO FIND OUT INFORMING. THE STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE TELLS CHANNEL 4 IN A STATEMENT, THE STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE RESPECTS JUDGE COAL'S DECISION WHICH BRINGS TO LIGHT A COMPLICATED AREA IN THE PUBLIC RECORDS LAW. ACCORDING TO JUDGE COLE'S ORDER, ONE MISTAKE WAS FOUND OUT OF 17 ACCUSATIONS FILED BY MR. LEE. JUDGE'S ORDER NOTES THE ERROR WAS NOT MADE WILLFULLY OR KNOWINGLY IN THIS CASE. AND THE STATE'S ATTORNEY'S OFFICE SAYS THEY ARE COMPLYING WITH THE JUDGE'S ORDERS. THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING ALL REQUESTED DOCUMENTS TO MR. LEE.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -

A judge ruled the 4th Circuit State Attorney's Office not only illegally hampered one man's attempts to gain access to public records, but used intimidating tactics to do it.

Quick Clicks

A judge found that State Attorney Angela Corey's office, whose job is to prosecute lawbreakers, violated Florida state law itself.

In court rulings, it shows the the office violated Florida open records laws after Curtis Lee, a former attorney and a frequent public records plaintiff, started requesting documents related to the police and fire pension fund.

His attorney, Brooks Rathet, said he ran into a lot of roadblocks.

"He would ask for records involving police and fire pension fund. That was an issue that was of interest to Mr. Lee. I wasn't involved in that," Rathet said. "He had no attorneys involved and he had a couple investigators with the State Attorney's Office come and visit him, which was disconcerting to him. He felt uneasy about that and he still wasn't getting the records."

The ruling says the State Attorney's Office sent two investigators to Lee's home and told him to stop contacting their office, and Rathet said that was over the line. The State Attorney's Office is legally obligated to provide public documents to anyone who requests them.

"If these are records that belong to the public, the public has a right to them, and sometimes people are motivated for all different reasons," Rathet said. "Sometimes whistleblowers or citizen watchdogs -- or they just want to find out information -- want to know things."

"The State Attorney's Office respects Judge Cole's decision, which brings to light a complicated area in the Public Records law," the State Attorney's Office told News4JAX in a statement. "According to Judge Cole's order, only one mistake was found out of the 17 accusations filed by Mr. Lee. Judge Cole's order notes the error was not done 'willfully or knowingly' in this case."

The State Attorney's Office said it is currently in the process of getting together all the documents Lee has requested and getting them to him.

Copyright 2014 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Comments

The views expressed below are not those of News4Jax or its affiliated companies. By clicking on "Post," you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Service and your comment is in compliance with such terms. Readers, please help keep this discussion respectful and on topic by flagging comments that are offensive or inappropriate (hover over the commenter's name and you'll see the flag option appear on right side of that line). And remember, respect goes both ways: Tolerance of others' opinions is important in a free discourse. If you're easily offended by strong opinions, you might skip reading comments entirely.